Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas stops banks’ plan to increase ATM fees

ABS-CBNNews.com reports that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued a directive on Thursday, September 26, ordering banks not to raise their ATM fees pending the completion of a study on the matter.

According to the report, "BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. said the Monetary Board believes further study is needed to decide whether the banks’ plan to increase in ATM fees is justified." Several banks, including BPI, Metrobank and PSBank, announced earlier that they will be raising their interbank withdrawal fees to P15 "to basically cover the cost of operating the ATMs."

Although several banks have not yet issued a comment on this development, Banco De Oro (BDO) president Nestor Tan said the bank will comply with the BSP's directive.